


Five Times River Wondered if She Should Have Chosen Jayne over Kenny

by toxic_corn



Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-07
Updated: 2007-05-07
Packaged: 2018-11-07 13:58:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11060442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toxic_corn/pseuds/toxic_corn
Summary: River's with the new pilot, Kenny, but Jayne looks pretty tempting sometimes...





	Five Times River Wondered if She Should Have Chosen Jayne over Kenny

**Author's Note:**

> Written for crazywriterchic's prompt. I was writing all these five fics and Kenny kept showing up. Finally he gets his own story.

1\. Regret

 

He'd gotten her a necklace. Jayne had gotten her a necklace for her birthday. It'd been gorgeous and she would've loved nothing better than to wear it, having the sun reflect off the gold of the chain as Jayne smiled at her.

 

But she was in love with someone else, now. Someone who loved her back.

 

Putting the butterfly paperweight on her desk, she told herself that Kenny meant well, that this was a new relationship, and that he'd learn the art of gift-giving given time.

 

She could still see that necklace curled up in the palm of Jayne's large hand, though.

 

2\. Presumption

 

Kenny grew up with a schizophrenic aunt. She lived with his family and they all looked after her as best as they could. So when River has an episode, he knows exactly how to behave, what to say, how to say it, when to touch her and when not to. 

 

It frustrates her sometimes, the way he presumes to _know_. Not every situation is exactly the same.

 

She finds herself drawing a bizarre kind of comfort from Jayne, when she has her fits. His uncertainty over how to respond starts to draw her out of the dark and his resulting, "Get a grip, girl!" and all its harshness pulls her fully out into the real world.

Sometimes, it's possible to be a little _too_ understanding, River thinks as Kenny stops his hovering and Jayne's large form fills her vision.

 

3\. Baggage

 

In their kind of life, guns are a necessary evil. In so many of the situations the crew's been in, River would be dead seven times over if she hadn't been packing. It was only natural that she'd get her own.

 

The look of horror on Kenny's face had sucked all the enjoyment out of the endeavor. He understood her girl/weapon dichotomy; that wasn't the problem here.

 

The War for Independence had taken place on Kenny's home planet. A few key battles had been fought there; he'd been much too young to take arms but he'd watched his older brothers and his father suit up. He'd lost his older brother Jeremy in the Battle of Yung Hsuan. Seeing all the death and destruction going on around him, he'd pledged never to carry a weapon.

 

Seeing the love of his life holding an object he so abhorred and looking at it in open admiration was too much for him at the moment. He would understand, given time. Kenny was very understanding.

 

But all the same, as Jayne gently teased her, asking if she'd given her firearm a name, she wished her beau had less baggage like some crew members.

 

4\. Reconsider

 

For the first time since she was a toddler, River Tam lost her footing and managed to fall down the last five steps going down to the cargo bay. She blamed some of it on the pile of blankets she was holding, some of it on Kenny who had made her so angry in the first place, some of it on the ship's architects for making the steps so steep and narrow, and some of it on herself for trying to walk down these treacherous stairs with eyes full of tears, making the world seem wobbly and out of proportion.

 

A softly hissed curse and swift footsteps greeted her as she stirred on the cold, metal floor, trying to get to her feet.

 

"You all right, Riv?" Big, callused hands closed around her upper arms and she was gently, ever so gently lifted to her feet.

 

She blinked away tears, staring up into eyes as blue as eternity. "Hmmm?"

 

"Ya just went ass over teakettle down them stairs. Need ta go ta the infirmary?" Jayne smoothed her hair back with casual intimacy and River closed her eyes at the feeling.

 

"No," she said. "I feel more foolish than injured."

 

He grinned. "Ah, yeah. Blow ta the ego don't feel too good." He nodded at the blankets. "Too bad those couldn't cushion it the way they did yer body."

 

She giggled. "Yes, that's very unfortunate."

 

Jayne smiled but then it faded as he took a step back. "'Night, River." He retreated back to his weight bench.

 

Watching him, River started to reconsider some of the decisions she'd made thus far in her love life.

 

5\. Comparison

 

Ready to bathe, River threw the shower room door open and her eyes promptly popped out of her skull.

 

"Sorry," Jayne mumbled and slung a towel around his waist. "Be out in a sec."

 

River quickly shut the door and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath.

 

They really came in that size??

THE END


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